By DAVE SKRETTA, AP Sports Writer
PARIS (AP) — One is the defending Olympic champion. The other failed to even qualify for the Summer Games when 3×3 basketball made its Tokyo debut. Yet both American teams harbor the same expectation when play begins at the Paris Olympics.
“We’re excited to try to bring that gold medal home,” Canyon Barry said Friday.
That is just about where the similarities end.
The quartet of women on the U.S. team are well-known pro and college players, even though Caitlin Clark was ineligible and the biggest names in the WNBA are in the 5-on-5 tournament. Dearica Hamby is having a career year for the Los Angeles Sparks, Rhyne Howard was the first overall pick of the Atlanta Dream two years ago, Hailey Van Lith played with Angel Reese for LSU last season and Cierra Burdick has played for seven teams over five WNBA seasons.
While none was part of the U.S. team that lost just once in pool play and beat France and the athletes from Russia on the way to the gold medal in Tokyo, they nevertheless boast plenty of experience in the nuanced, half-court 3×3 game.
Burdick won gold at the World Cup a decade ago and teamed with Van Lith — who has played the variation since she was 15 — to win another World Cup last year. Hamby helped the Americans take gold at the AmeriCup. And while Howard is relatively new to the scene, she did star in the 3×3 Challenge at the WNBA All-Star festivities.
“We’re super grateful to be here, super grateful to wear USA across our chest, and represent our country on the world stage,” Burdick said. “Unlike the men, we’ve been together for about a week and a half, so we need all the preparation we can get.”
Therein lies the biggest difference between the teams.
Jimmer Fredette, Canyon Barry, Kareem Maddox and Dylan Travis have been playing together for years, winning gold at the Pan American Games and finishing second to Serbia at the World Cup. And that was the plan all along — build camaraderie and establish chemistry — as they sought to rectify the brutal disappointment Maddox, Barry and then-teammates Robbie Hummel and Dominique Jones experienced when they were eliminated from the Olympic qualifying tournament for Tokyo.
The women’s team, by contrast, has been trying to build new bonds, and that was before Cameron Brink tore her ACL last month. Hamby was picked as her replacement and the race was on to get ready for the Summer Games.
“We have to work hard but we also have to work smart,” said Burdick, whose team opens pool play against Germany on Tuesday at the 3×3 venue, part of an urban sports park that has risen from Place de la Concorde in the heart of Paris.
“As much preparation as we can in a short amount of time. A lot of film work,” Burdick said. “We’re maybe at a disadvantage in our lack of preparation time, but I think our ceiling is really high, so if we continue to improve we’ll be a scary team.”
The men, who open against Serbia on Tuesday, have the same level of confidence thanks largely to their shared experience.
“I think obviously 2020 was tough, and many Olympic athletes — and athletes in general — know that struggle of setting a goal and trying to achieve something, and coming up short,” said Barry, the son of Hall of Famer Rick Barry.
“Kareem and I went through that in 2020 with the Tokyo Olympics, but it feels great to have that full-circle moment where you say, ‘OK, I’m going to give it another go.’ And now we’re excited to try to bring the gold medal home.”
The collection of men trying to accomplish that come from more varied backgrounds.
Fredette may be the biggest name after his college career at BYU, where he was the AP Player of the Year. Barry played at College of Charleston before finishing at Florida and going into engineering. Maddox went to Princeton and has spent time as a producer for NPR’s podcast “All Things Considered.” Travis was a special education teacher before joining the 3×3 team.
“I mean, my dream was never really to be an Olympian for basketball. Those are lofty expectations,” Fredette said. “I loved the Olympics growing up. I watched every sport. My family would get mad at me because I’d have it on 24/7 watching everything, and when this opportunity came up, I was just thrilled to try to make it. And now that it’s a reality is a dream come true.”